Hexed
by Floofdoodle
Summary: In the world of Tyria, year 1325 AE, certain magics have gone missing from regular practice. A zealous Asura researcher and her human assistant are on a scrappy quest to understand the mystery behind the seemingly lost art of Enchantments and Hexes. SPOILER ALERT: It's all Isiah Cartwright's fault for being bad at balancing. But that would make a boring story, so I wrote this.
1. Chapter 1

Amid whispering snores, drool delicately tip-toed on moonlight-glimmer feet across the lines in a sleeping Asura's parted lips and dangled toes over the threshold of her mouth, wiggling them just above an arguably priceless work of magical literature. Too many continuous hours spent poring over the same few works time and again in a passion-drunk scramble on the heels of a budding thesis had drawn a fuzzy curtain over her mind and curled her eyelids into each other. "Just a little nap," she had said to herself. Now she laid but seconds away from irreparably staining her impromptu pillow of time-scuffed vellum. As the drool thread limbered up to kick free and spelunk into the book binding cave below, a soft hanker-chief robbed it of its chance.

"She would never forgive herself for something like that," a man muttered quietly.

In his hand, the simple cloth square slipped across her mouth before he stowed it softly in a nap-sack tied at his waste. The sleeping Asura murmured and tossed a bit, but did not wake. He sighed. The house's sudden collapse into a startlingly aberrant silence had not come from her being kidnapped or murdered-which was good, honestly-but she clearly was not going to make any breakthroughs that day. However, the situation gave the man a somewhat rare opportunity to really have a good look at his company. An Asuran woman. Ragged robes with mismatched patchwork plains joined by winding railroads of impromptu stitching. Short, auburn hair that hinted at curls dangled about her cresent ears, now limp upon her desk. Graduate of the College of Synergetics with a rabid obsession for the magical arts of hexes and enchantments. And most importantly: the reason he found himself in this humid swamp, fumbling with carpentry, slaying jaguars, drakes and fending off bandits while somehow managing to drum up edible meals each day for himself and the small creature in question now snoring softly before him with her head coddled in a pillow of time-scuffed vellum texts.

Truth be told, from her little soapbox in Divinity's Reach's district promenade, she specified her preference for an Engineer of some sort to join her in her mission to the Shattered Henge: a swamp in the southwestern part of the Brisband Wildlands region. Apparently, she was hoping to hire someone with a background in establishing and maintaining stable laboratory or experimentation spaces. However, her criteria must have been rather flexible for her to reconsider those prerequisites when an eager Guardian volunteered himself to accompany her without pay simply on the off-chance that she might come across the goal of her research: the revival and mainstreamed reimplementation of techniques regarding sustained magical influences over a person that could be either self-generated or imposed on another.

Thinking back on it now, it all seemed rather shady to the man. Why did she so readily accept his offer despite it being drastically different from what was her original plan? What was an Asura doing in the Human capital city soliciting associates when she could have probably found someone just as capable in Rata Sum? Why was she so concerned about magics that seemed to be the elder enchantments that inspired him to become a Guardian in the first place? Even so, with all of those questions like rocks clicking in the gears of his mind, he still remembered the rush of discovery that they shared back then. The moment he first understood what her mission was, standing together in front of that empty merchant stall, he had to jump at that chance—maybe the only chance he would ever get in his life to unlocking the secrets behind the proud and alluring legends entwined within in his profession's origin. In the end, when he had finally spit his mushy monologue bubbling with stories from his childhood told by his grandmother about monks long ago that could protect and defend with the simple whisper of a word and wave of a focus, the way that Asura's eyes lit up like the sun quickly crashing a mid-summer's dawn across the dark morning sky, he knew that he had found a great ally and someone worth protecting.

So he hacked at mimosas and crafted a hut-shaped shamble, clumsily planed out ragged furniture and bookshelves from poorly hewn wood and did whatever he could so that his ally could devote herself to tracking magical energy spikes and craft her theories in hopes that one day—just maybe one day—she might find that lead that would change everything. But it had been seven months since that fateful meeting, and as hopeful and devoted as he was, for Rell Whittlestark, even his cleric's heart could not completely abate the thick breath of the Maguuma Jungle that creeps and rots the treasure of an idealistic adventurer's dream.

He was tired, but even so, slivers of hope still cracked out of him in the small smile on his face as he went off and came back with an Asura-sized blanket from the exhausted scholar's cot. Then he sighed again. The drool was back. He had been gone fifteen seconds and she was once more about to ruin a priceless tome in her sleep. His furrowed brow and eyelids twitched at his brain's only remedy for the situation. With chainmail-coated arms leaving trails of rainfall whispers behind his movements, he scooped his hands under the Asura's armpits and lifted her swiftly from her chair in order to preserve the book. This was not something for which she could remain asleep.

"Muh, fuhh." It took a bit for her to fully understand what was happening. "RELL! What are you doing?!" she yelped, now fully awake and suspended in air: the Guardian's hostage en route to her proper bed.

"You drool in your sleep," the cleric muttered, with the smallest slip of enjoyment—the kind a child gets when he finds out a secret.

"I—I! You! Get your—! You were watching me?!"

"Watching you about to destroy a precious tome full of insight into lost magics."

She huffed. "You're supposed to be guarding outside."

"I came in to check on you when it suddenly got a little too quiet."

"You don't need to worry about me."

"I do need to worry about the books, apparently," they had reached her cot by this point.

"Are you just going to throw banter at me?!" she shut her eyes and seized about bitterly in his grip.

"Did you find anything today, Kleppa?" It was a serious question; spoken not with gravity but rather with the kind of soft feeling in a mother's voice when she asks about her child's day out. One he asked every night. One for which the Asura rarely had a positive response, but even so, after seven months of repeated, patient questioning and given the situation, the familiar interrogative was more like a sorry than a real probe for information.

The Asura sighed limply. The Guardian set her down.

"There's something around here," Kleppa began softly, teeth gritted with a frustration that they both shared but Rell managed to more successfully conceal, "I can sense it in the way I can channel the elements here and some research from several Dynamics academics seem to agree. They were working to harness the anamolies, but nothing ever came of it. It's here, Rell. I know it is, but..." her voice lilted, sad like the whole experience of this search had foamed up and crashed into her like high tide in a single second: all of that work and time with nothing to really show for it.

Rell dropped the little blanket on top of her head. "We're running low on supplies again," he said calmly, assuredly; then frowned a bit in hindsight. "I mean, lower than usual. I want to make a trip to the nearby encampment to the east. Seems the Durmand Priory has been busy lately and the place has sprung up into quite the little settlement. I haven't been lucky with the game around here lately so figured I could trade for something that could tie us over for a little while."

"Actually, tomorrow I wanted to run some more tests with my elemental magic," Kleppa said. "I think you could actually help too." This caught the Guardian's interest. "I've been taking notes on the duration of several invoked effects. In addition to any sustained or amplified elemental transmuations, I'd like to observe any quantitative anamolies you might be able to generate with your symbols or energy spheres. I'm more sure than anything now that tracking such phenomena is the key to a lead."

As if waiting for her to finish, a soft rumble—like a pair of angry hands twisting and ripping wet cloth—bubbled up from her stomach. Blood vessels gorging tingles in her cheeks, the Asura gave her fiercest poker face.

"And you'd be willing to starve for that?" Rell chuckled.

"Any day," Kleppa flashed a shark-toothed grin.

In their beds—Kleppa's cot arguably more comfortable than Rell's bedroll for reasons established at the beginning of their partnership regarding Asuran pride—the pair rested off their frustrations and quarrel, doing their best to think of tomorrow as the day that they would find something that could bring back the magics of old. Rell tilted over to grab another look at his only tangible hold on that hope: a little ball of blanket with ears bordered by moonlight that yawned in through the only window in the entire hut. Another gut mumble gargled from her side of the room and the ball twitched with a surrendering moan. Rell thought to himself how it'd be best to get some food as soon as possible. He was also feeling the effects of their meager diet as of late. Another shockingly timed stomach groan gurgled this time from his own belly. He could have sworn that he heard Kleppa snicker and thought that, well, at least she wasn't alone anymore. They were certainly in this together if anything—daily victories and failures alike.

The following morning, Rell awoke drastically hungry. Despite his interest in Kleppa's experiments, he made the snap decision to dress and leave early en route for the nearby encampment, He assumed a half-stavred state would do neither of them good whether in guardian a hut from wild animals or discovering the secrets of ancient magics. However, along with his dire motivation for food, Rell felt rather excited about leaving the swamp. Frisky wind gusts skipped through his auburn hair, refreshing him on his hike eastwards with several animal pelts in tow. Strolling through the gate, the cleric noted a pub built close to the lifeblood of transit in the town: the Mirkrise Waypoint. Having been tied to muck and water for over half a year, his drool pooled and stomach gurgled when the air suddenly drove the dank spike of ale's wheat into his nose. The palpable odor snaked into his mouth and toe-tapped across his tongue in time with the plentiful clink of heavy glasses. His trading would have to wait.

Meanwhile, Kleppa awoke to a note left on her bed.

"Breakthroughs don't happen on empty stomachs. Why not take a day off? I'll return by sundown with some supplies."

She crumpled the script in her hands. "How dare he underestimate the potential of genius. I don't need food!" Throwing the ball of paper onto the ground, the lonely crinkles foamed in her ears. Her own stomach moaned again in a cheeky echo. "That idiot better hurry back."

Still, unwilling to delay her research by an entire day, she set aside her aged tomes and hunger pangs to venture out towards where the Shattered Henge's sticky mouth of stone cliff teeth breathed grassy plains north into the Duskstruck Moors. In an open field she produced a scepter from her backpack and channeled her radiating arcane energies through the air until lightning buzzed in her marrow. With her weapon in hand, she focused the spell in mind and launched a crackling stream of electricity that would have made Tesla blush. She wheeled around slowly while maintaining her spell, paying careful attention to the influence of latent energies whirling in the air.

North yielded nothing special. West drained her as usual. South saw her slipping slowly; stamina dwindling. East shot her backwards several feet. She yelped as her stream of bolts roared its reach further than she thought possible and recoiled violently back into her body. Lying on the ground recovering, Kleppa quickly tried to put the data together in her stunned mind. She wobbled to her feet, hair and ears on end and took a good look down the path her lighting sparked. Southeast. Nothing like this had ever happened before. For a split second, alone in that field, she felt herself overwhelmed with arcane power before discharging that powerful attack as if she had tapped a well of personal energy that she never knew she had. She plundered her mind for a possible cause, but despite her interest in logical conclusions one answer dominantly skimmed above the surface of her frantic, foaming thoughts. It was only a tenative hypothesis with no real proof, but its implications spun her hope-drunk brain headlong into the next sentence:

"Did someone... that energy. Could someone channel an enchantment with that?" She looked in the direction in which she fired her arc lightning. She recognized the resonant energies of an Asuran waypoint cube.: the Mirkrise Waypoint.


	2. Chapter 2

Approaching the busy pub counter, Rell weaved sparse clinks of silver and copper between his fingers: all of the liquid currency to his name. Prior to departure, Kleppa had insisted that a pair of hearty individuals could lead subsistence lifestyles in the Shattered Henge given its plentiful fauna and flora, yet Rell scrounged up what he could anyway in the way of actual money just in case things ever got rough. And they did. Often. So often in fact, that the cleric's coin reserve had nearly dried up within the first month; consumed by trades for supplies made in desperation with passing adventurers and nearby settlements. And even though it wasn't long after those initial weeks that the two had finally managed to find their rhythm for survival in the sparsely-populated muck of the Brisband Wildlands, the events had left Rell with barely anything to his name. Even so, swimming in memories and experience, the Guardian found himself happy—perhaps carefree would have been a better word—as he clattered the remnants of his life-savings onto the polished, beer-soaked wood in front of a man polishing a thick glass.

"Two of your finest ales, please. And some jerky if you've got it!"

Elsewhere, Kleppa had made the decision to pull back to the hut. Having roughly calculated the direction towards the source of the spike in arcane energies she had violently experienced not long ago, she had retreated to her maps to further define its potential whereabouts. Not long after having consulted the few maps that she had, she gave her desk a good feel for the side of her face. She was starving and headaches had begun to set in. Even so, she knew that she had to inform her accomplice of her finding. He had appaently been working on his own to manifest and maintain consecrated shields of energy. Maybe combining the source of the anomaly with Rell's capabilities as a Guardian could help them finally make a breakthrough. Forcing herself to her feet, she geared up and set off for the Priory encampment town at Mirkrise Waypoint with the plan to grill up a wild skale stake along the way Elementalist style.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself there, stranger," a new face interrupted Rell's quaint feast of dry, salted meat and beer. "Those pelts yours?"

The Guardian gulped down what was in his mouth. "Yes! Were you interested in them?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," the man took a seat at the bar next to Rell. He was aged in contrast to the young cleric: his hair bloomed gray at its ends like the nerve spindle tips of winter-burnt tree branches. Decades of life had etched a rasp into his voice. His clothing reminded him of Kleppa—in that it wasn't in the best of shape; tattered and stained in some areas. Honestly, now that Rell had a good look at him, he didn't exactly seem the most trustworthy figure to sit down next to you at a bar.

"In a manner of speaking?" Caution dug trenches in Rell's brow.

"Yes. Where did you get them exactly?"

"Oh, um, well, my partner and I have been living in the Shattered Henge for some time now, so I've had my fair share of opportunities to hunt the wild animals down there."

"As I had thought," the man replied, rather satisfied with himself. "You'd better be careful around those parts. There's a thief running about in there."

"A thief?" Rell grew suspicious. "And how do you know about this?"

"Oh, I was mugged on my way here coming in from the northwest," he seemed surprisingly calm discussing an event that certainly could have been his last moments on Tyria. "My path swung low by the swamp and I got jumped—held up at bow-point by a masked highwayman demanding my valuables. Well, I dropped my coin purse and scrambled towards here for refuge and to inform the Priory. Seems they had been receiving similar accounts over the past few days—barkeep!" The man interrupted himself to beckon for another glass of ale, then turned back to Rell. "Sure was nice of them to pay for my meal here as a little reward for the report." He paused again for a second, almost looking for more conversation. "You said you had a partner?"

"Yes," Rell replied, "and also a reason to leave now."

The man grabbed Rell's arm as he rose up. "Look, kid, whatever you're doing in the swamp there, it's dangerous now."

"It's always been dangerous," the Guardian retorted, ready to leave.

"Word has it that power-hungry Asura krewes are moving in on the Shattered Henge from the south and east," the man continued. "That thief might be roaming the swamp for reasons beyond just snatching other people's valuables."

Rell halted and turned in earnest towards his company. "Who are you exactly?"

The man creaked to his feet, knees and neck popping quietly as he stretched himself out. "I'm a well-informed and curious merchant who has to report his stolen shipment and is taking a path that skirts along the Shattered Henge. And given your experience in the swamp as well as your obvious concern for your partner—no doubt wandering about in the area, oblivious as you are to any sentient dangers—I was hoping that we could accompany each other through the area to ensure our mutual safety."

Rell narrowed his eyes, but as much as he did not trust this man, he was not about to turn down an opportunity to help someone out. Besides, an extra pair of eyes might come in handy if there was a thief about on the route back home.

"Do you know how to defend yourself at all?"

"Well, now I'm but a retired scholar who dabbled in the Mesmer arts long ago, but I could help you out if you gave me an opening."

A Mesmer. Even less of a reason for Rell to completely trust him. He reluctantly extended his hand towards the man. The two figures shook on it. "It's a deal then," Rell said. "But you're walking ahead of me."

"Haha, a wise choice, kid."

"By the way, what is your name, stranger?"

"Ah, how rude of me! Such a long conversation and I've neglected such a thing." He puffed himself up somewhat—as much as he could anyway being an aged, somewhat gaunt sorcerer in tattered clothes, "You can call me Luveck."

"Then I'm Rell."

"And I'll name you Lunch," Kleppa's eyes sparkled and drool jumped the gap between her lips shaped into a toothy smile. From behind a hill of silt and grass, she had spotted a river drake on her route towards the Priory encampment town. Granted, it was a little out of place in the swamp, but she was too hungry at the moment to invest thought into probabilities or herding patterns. From her hiding spot, she retrieved her scepter and focused her mind. Taking a breath, she focused her mind on fire and raised her weapon at the creature plodding about in the shallow muck. She felt a bubble rise up in her abdomen. It burst in her chest and rolled hot mist up her arms that fizzed in her fingers. Kleppa jumped from behind her hill and pointed her scepter at the river drake, giving the most triumphant battle cry she could muster.

And nothing happened. Instead of seeing her target burst into flames, the Asuran researcher had managed to alert her would-be meal to her presence. It looked her way and began charging. Kleppa quickly attempted to channel another Flamestrike, but the enormous lizard was closing in too quickly. She dodged to the side and shouted again—this time a soaring phoenix roared in her mind's eye—but no fire came from her fingertips. Exasperated, she dug into the elements. Lightning Strike. Blinding Flash. Dust Devil. She didn't manage to produce any spells.

Kleppa panicked. She barely stumbled out of the way of the drake's snapping onslaught. This Asura was not a mighty Elementalist, but she was capable. She was a sorcerer that could recite and execute incantations in her sleep. Why then, in this moment, was she denied her spells? Exhausted and confused, she didn't react when the great lizard pivoted sharply. It's scaly tail whipped around and crashed into the Asura, launching her several feet. Striking the ground hard, Kleppa gasped in pain. She scrambled to her knees, but the drake pinned her back down into the swampland underneath its front claws. Her scepter slipped from her hands and into the mud out of reach. The imposing monster heaved a bark at her, breathing deep until flames licked and whirled in the gape of its mouth.

"D-drake's Breath," Kleppa muttered, witnessing the source of the Elementalist spell build up lethally right before her eyes.

"Easy, boy!" a rough, alto voice called out.

The beast yelped and perked up its head up, swallowing its own fireball preemptively; smoke oozing from between its lips. From over a nearby ledge, a figure jumped down with bow in hand with an arrow drawn towards Kleppa. She couldn't make out the gender, but this was clearly a human wrapped up in a long coat, baggy pants and wearing a mask, a wide-brimmed hat and headwraps.

Hel—Hey! What! Who are you?!" Kleppa demanded.

"Your money or your life, little one," the figure said plainly. "And please let's just go with the former. I don't want my partner here to spoil his dinner."

"W-what kind of Thief uses a tamed drake to do their dirty work?"

"Anyone can be a thief, my tiny friend," the robber replied. "Now, I'll ask again. Hand over your valuables—and that would include any extracted druid leaf essence that you've leeched from the area, you dirty Inquest agent!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah, she's going to be upset when I return without food," Rell suddenly blurted out. Having only eaten what he could afford on a budget meager by anyone's means, he found himself hungry again on the journey home, especially with a full pack of animal hides still weighing down on his back. The whole reason for why he had left in the first place reeled back into his stomach and his conscience: there would be no relief supplies that night. Despite this, he quickly resolved to continue on. He would never forgive himself if something had happened in his absence that couldn't be resolved by a decent meal.

"Your partner?" leading the way west from the Priory encampment, the old Mesmer didn't bother turning his head around to speak. "Are you really that worried?"

That was an interesting question. Rell wondered if he wasn't giving his Elementalist friend enough credit. On several occasions, she hadn't been above assisting him in gathering food, setting traps and even once hunting swamp skales. She was capable. Maybe he shouldn't be so worried. His thoughts leaked out through his lips in soft, incoherent mumbles.

"She must be important to you—this woman." Luveck continued.

"Of course!" the cleric declared confidently. "Well, we've been working together in the swamp for about seven months now. I owe a lot to her for the experience. She's the reason I'm here after all."

"Seven months," the old man chuckled. "And you even followed her here! Oh my, that's quite the time frame for a relationship to develop." Luveck couldn't stop a salacious grin from creacking across his face. "And you two were alone? Ho, ho, a healthy man and woman living together in a swamp..."

Rell sputtered. "W-what? Wait."

"Well, you don't have to be ashamed of it, boy! So tell me, is she cute? How was the first time? I wanna know the woman—"

The Guardian was happy that his company couldn't see him blush a shade of burnt red that would have only looked natural on a deep autumn Sylvari. "Wait! K-Kleppa? And I? H-hold on, we aren't—! And you!"

"Kleppa?" Luveck's playful tone flattened gravely.

"O-oh, yes," Rell replied curtly with a cough, trying to gather himself, "I didn't mention her name did I?"

"No. And a strange name it is." Something abruptly gave Rell the impression that the man walking in front of him was tensing up. "Is she an Asura?"

The Guardian breathed and focused his will; tracking every sway in Luveck's steps. "Would that matter?"

Luveck halted. Rell mirrored him. The cleric's right hand slinked for his sword's hilt while the left slipped undone the clasp that strapped a shield to his back. The Mesmer turned to face him.

"So, you made it with an Asura?

The Guardian completely lost his composure. "OLD LECH—!"

"Oh-ho, so you—," just then, Luvek interrupted himself and looked about. "Hold on, be quiet," he suddenly urged his company. His company, however, would have none of it.

"I-I'LL do no such _thing_ after what you said! Not before—" Rell was cut short when the old scholar stretched his hand towards him. On the Mesmer's aged index finger, he wore a small ring topped with a signet inscribed with a complicated rune. The arcane inscription flashed like a firefly and Rell suddenly felt his muscles melt into uselessness. He collapsed in stunned silence. His vision glazed over and everything he saw wobbled like the silver ribbons of a heat mirage. It was a few seconds before the Guardian could manage words.

"Y... you..."

"Sorry, kid, but you were being too loud. There's something going on down there." Luveck pointed down a slope that they were approaching. It lead into the swamp. The Mesmer beckoned his company over and the Guardian stumbled closer, now all too wary of the capabilities of his new companion. Suddenly, Rell heard what had caught Luveck's attention.

"Inquest?!" It was Kleppa's voice, without a doubt. Rell stood up immediately and saw his partner pinned beneath the claws of a vicious drake with a tightly bundled figure aiming a knocked arrow at her. Instinctively, he drew his sword and moved forward, but Luveck gripped the belt around the cleric's waist tightly, urging him to stop.

"Nothing will happen for now, Rell," Luveck said confidently. "Best we see what's going on before trying anything."

Rell couldn't agree with that course of action with his friend's life on the line, but not wanting to risk something for which none of them were prepared, he halted. Given that Luveck was a Mesmer, Rell had some reason to believe his interpretation of the scene, but more importantly, he had to make sure that the old sorcerer wouldn't try anything funny when he moved in on that person with the bow. He crouched behind some foliage and readied himself in case anything went wrong.

"You think I'm from the Inquest?" Kleppa asked indignantly. "What gives you the idea that you can just jump me for that reason?"

The drake snapped at her face and the Elementalist recoiled. "The Inquest has been active in these parts recently," her captor began, "seeing that they're exclusively Asura, it's merely reasonable suspicion. Besides, you won't find many Asura up in these parts otherwise."

"The Inquest are here?" Kleppa asked gravely. Something about the way she spoke made the situation seem to her far more than just some inconvenience or obstacle.

"Don't try to make me think you don't have a hand in their workings out in the boonies here," the bandit pressed. "Here's the deal: You're going to tell me where your hideout is and I'll drop you off for the Priory to deal with, or you hold out on me and your life ends here. With the number of you rodents infesting the swamp, I'm sure I can find more stray leads on your base's whereabouts." The drake barked excitedly again, shifting its weight and painfully clutching Kleppa's arms.

"Ngh, you," Kleppa worked to retain her dignity, "who are you? Do you even know what you're getting yourself into? If the Inquest really is here and you're investigating them, you're clearly more than just some random Ranger rolling about the muck, mugging Asura. Who do you work for?"

The Ranger drew the arrow aimed at Kleppa back into a full cock, "Sorry, rat, but that didn't sound like you squealing on your friends."

The arrow leapt from the Ranger's hands and screamed towards Kleppa's forehead. It struck mud. The drake's front legs sunk into the wetland. And a body of mist hissed up a nearby ridge. The cocoon of cloud dripped open and revealed the solid form of Kleppa standing smugly above her former captor.

The Ranger stammered, "B-but—the Power Block! How?"

"Funny thing about Cantrips," Kleppa began, "They aren't really spells—more like tricks or practiced skills." While the hooded figure below knocked another arrow, Kleppa gave a cheeky grin; her shark-like teeth giggled threats, "And they've always been a valued tool for refocusing a sorcerer's mind."

The Ranger fired another arrow. It whizzed through air and clinked into a rock face atop the ridge. At the speed of a lightning strike, Kleppa had zipped over to her scepter. She casually retrieved it from the muck while her opponent wheeled around in surprise. At the stroke of a single deep breath, stones shuttered in the ground and the swamp cracked dry beneath Kleppa's feet. Before the Ranger could unleash another volley of arrows, the Asura launched a whirling dust devil from her scepter that roiled into the robber's mask. The drake recoiled as the remnants of the dry tornado crashed over it as well.

While the figure and tamed drake struggled in blindness, Kleppa flicked her wrist lithely. A halo of jagged crystals blossomed around her arm. Kleppa approached her adversary menacingly.

"With Rell elsewhere," she spoke softly, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a little rough with you."

The Ranger stowed the bow, produced a sword and dagger and charged towards the Asura's voice with serpent's speed. The crystals around Kleppa's arm glowed. A vicious lightning bolt wormed through the Ranger's body, staggering the onslaught. A vicious gust roared from Kleppa's body and tackled the highwayman and drake into the ground. The Asura walked up on top of her enemy and waved a finger adorned with a signet ring. The Ranger felt unbearably heavy—completely immobilized in the mud. The dominating Asura chuckled haughtily.

"If he ever saw me like this, I don't know what he would think," she tittered viciously.

"You rodent! Release me at once!" Kleppa's hostage cried.

"No. Not before you answer_ my _questions." Wanton snaps of lightning ran recklessly around her scepter, dripping angry light into the hooded figure's body at random. The Ranger gasped painfully at each whip-crack of electric shock. "Now listen," Kleppa began again, "if the Inquest are here, they're probably here tailing my research. I was hoping to shake them, but they're damn persistent and have the resources to keep up the chase. Which means if you're here hunting the Inquest, then you must be part of some group that's also interested in dominating a potentially powerful magical anomaly free of interlopers—which would also include myself." She pointed her scepter right at the hooded figures squinting eyes. "Were you planning on just purging this whole swamp in order to investi—"

At once, a swarm of ethereal pink butterflies foamed up from the ground, dazzling Kleppa and throwing her backwards in stumbles. In front of the immobilized Ranger had appeared Luveck in defensive posture with a scepter in his hand.

"That's far enough, little one," the old man said.

Rell immediately glanced to his side. There was Luveck staring at him. The Mesmer waved, and blotches of the world behind him leaked through his body as though it were a rotting cloth.

"Sorry kid. It's safer for you to stay here." the deteriorating image said in a hollow voice. It shattered violently and a cloud of pink rushed across Rell's body, knocking him over in a daze. In his melting consciousness, the only thing he could think about was Kleppa's ferocity—something he had never known—and how even that might not get her out of this predicament. His hand fumbled limply for his sword as his eyes slowly closed in sleep.

"And who are you? Reinforcements?" Kleppa asked angrily. "I want answers you two, and I'm not afraid to get them through force." She raised her scepter for another strike.

Luveck pointed his wand at Kleppa and from it rushed a hot wind of blushing swirls that stung the Asura's skin and bubbled her blood. She yelped, but kept her eyes on her target. Furious dust clouds roaring up her sleeves, chunks of jagged stone ripped themselves from the ground and flew at her foe. But the moment they launched, Kleppa reeled backwards. The arcane energies she normally felt rush through her veins had ping-balled angrily within her body and her mind flared up in pain. The stone daggers that she had fired passed through the figure of Luveck. His image wobbled and shattered into nothing.

"What?!" Kleppa exclaimed. There was no sign of the Mesmer or even the Ranger.

Just then, the Mesmer reappeared just where he was not a moment before, this time with a greatsword in his hands The Elementalist winced and ripped more daggers from the cracked ground below. The old sorcerer pointed to the side. Out of Kleppa's peripherals, a tattered, pink whirlwind in the shape of Luveck screamed through her body. The impact flung her several feet and into a sharp embankment hill.

Not willing to give up the fight, Kleppa scrambled to her feet in a wobbly defensive posture. More stones came up from the ground to guard her and lightning crackled around her body. The Mesmer strafed around her and dropped his heavy blade. He whipped out his scepter again and flung blast after blast at his opponent. The two exchanged strings and bolts of crashing energies like a Canthan fireworks show until Kleppa realized that there were at least four Mesmers on the field.

They all rushed her. She stepped back, but into the steep hill behind her—too steep to climb in time. The four bodies vanished and a clamor of explosions shredded Kleppa's consciousness. She screamed as the blast rocketed her into the ridge. The embankment spilled her body limply into the swamp below. Confused and coughing blood in the mud, she worked herself up on one arm. The Mesmer's feet plodded into her view from the side.

"Before I kill you, you're going to tell me where your base is."

Kleppa gritted her teeth and a wave of fire erupted from her body. Luveck stumbled backwards, tongues of flame attacking his body. Kleppa stood quickly and began channeling another lightning stream.

"Stupid creature!" Luveck shouted and threw his hand out at the oncoming blast.

Kleppa felt the same feeling that she had dealt with yesterday. The bolt roared with power, then slammed back into her. She tried to retaliate, but all power seemed shut off in her veins. Her sorcerer's abilities had been blocked completely. Her cantrips used, she panicked for a moment, stumbling backwards with desperate attempts to connect herself to the elements.

The old Mesmer extinguished himself with quick pats, then rapidly approached the confused Asura in furious strides. He kicked her to the ground and kept his foot on her chest.

"Mael's right," he said, "there are plenty of you in this swamp. It was troublesome probing this area, but we can do it again." He raised his scepter in a bludgeoning gesture.

In a blinding flash, Rell appeared behind Kleppa, shield and sword in hand with the pack full of animal hides still drooping on his back. The Mesmer looked up. Kleppa gasped. The Guardian kneeled. A bubble of energy expanded violently out from within Rell's wooden buckler and knocked Luveck clean off into a nearby tree with bone-cracking force.

"R-Rell!" Kleppa gasped. "What—"

"No time," the cleric interrupted. "We're getting out of here."

In an instant, the Mesmer teleported to where his greatsword lay. Picking it up, he pointed it at the pair.

"Stay where you are!" Luveck shouted.

Rell paid no heed, helping Kleppa to her feet. Luveck channeled his mental powers into his enormous focus and conjured another whirling greatsword phantasm that hurdled towards Rell. The cleric washed a spiritual aegis over him and his partner. The phantasm splashed through their bodies harmlessly.

"You don't know what you're doing, kid!" Luveck cried as he swung his blade. In mid-swing, it shed a copy of itself—glittering pink and transparent—that careened towards Rell. The Guardian's sword arm roared out a superhuman amount of slashes, shouting forth arcs of blue wind that rent the illusory greatsword to pieces mid-flight and carried on into Luveck's body. The Mesmer reeled backwards and jammed his blade into the ground. Rell grapped Kleppa by the wrist and rolled away before an enormous purple blade of energy erupted out from beneath their feet.

Luveck pointed his greatsword at Rell and fired more beams of energy. Rell slung his shield around his shoulder and produced a sculpture from the satchel on his belt. Energies ran through the blossom of looped crystal as Rell focused his will. Luveck's attack crashed into Rell's chest painfully. The cleric braced his stance, gritted his teeth and returned his own ray. From his focus, a brilliant column of light lashed across and over the Mesmer, searing his sight. The Mesmer's subsequent attacks veered wildly and gave Rell time to pick Kleppa up and make a run for higher ground, away from the swamp.

"Rell!" Luveck wailed in the distance, "You have to stop! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" The cleric glanced at his injured partner who returned the stare. Neither of them quite knew how to process what had just happened and both of them had far more questions in their mind than with which they were comfortable. In looking at each other—for just a moment—the two felt strangely ill. "Rell! Please!" The cleric ran until his footsteps in the grass were louder than the old Mesmer's cries.

Rell slowed to a walk, still with Kleppa in his arms. Neither had endeavored to break the silence between them.

"I can walk, you know," were the first words between the two. Apparently even such oppressive quiet could not completely mute Asuran pride.

"Can you walk to the Priory encampment?" Rell asked, refusing to let her down immediately.

"It isn't far, is it?"

"No."

Somewhat instinctively, Rell stopped and set his passenger down. Kleppa on her feet again, the pair continued in renewed silence towards the nearby settlement. The wind was swords under an empty sherbert sky. Rell silently slipped his shield properly across his back and took the pack full of hides into his hands. He drew a few of the furrier ones out and handed one to Kleppa. Feeling babied, the Asura reluctantly accepted the offering with a cross grin. Rell covered his exposed neck with a thin strip of warm fur. Slinging the sack back upon his shoulders, he felt compelled to speak. Kleppa felt the same thing.

"So who was that man?"

"Can you cast spells again?"

The questions had come simultaneously. Neither knew how to answer immediately. Kleppa pondered for a moment and stood still. She drew her scepter quietly and worked to connect herself to the elements.

"I... I don't know," Rell answered in the meantime.

"It... seems that I can't," Kleppa replied sullenly. A pyrrhic happiness glistened in her painful grin. "Whatever that man did to me, one might be inclined to consider it a hex." She suddenly seemed very determined, as she was yesterday—as if she had just woken up and knew that today she would discover her breakthrough. "We need to find him again."

"We need to find safety first so you can recover."

"What if I never recover? What if the secret to removing this hex lies with that old Mesmer that you left half-blind in the Henge?!" The idea worried Rell considerably. He didn't know how to respond and even slowed his pace towards the Priory encampment. "That Ranger mentioned a 'Power Block,'" Kleppa continued. "That could be part of the key to finding out what we could do to fix this. And maybe the key to discovering the magic behind such effects!"

Even though Rell thought of turning back, the sight of the Priory settlement walls renewed his determination to seek shelter first. They were both hungry, tired and wounded. Nothing good would come of them returning to danger in such a state.

"We'll press on and return tomorrow," Rell said firmly. "Besides, the encampment is already in sight... and in earshot."

Strange cries leaked out from the distance. He broke into a hurried jog. Kleppa protested, but did her best to keep up. Rounding the entrance gates, Rell discovered a scene of chaos. Several figures dressed in Priory scholar garb were shambling about the main road, lashing out violently at random passersby. The cleric slipped on his shield and rushed in, but stopped short. These were no drunkards or madmen. They reeked of foul water and stagnant air. Their flesh held unnaturally taut on bone; crisp and green with rot in the dry, cool air. Rasping out howls, a pair of the figures turned around and stumbled angrily towards the cleric. He immediately drew his sword.

From the side, lines of flame clawed through the ground and over the enraged scholars. The pair collapsed in agony, writhing in flame. Rell, wheeled towards the source of the fire. A group of Priory arcanists—this time very healthy and much more normal-looking—stood there ready for battle.

"We have undead that came from the north and west! We'll need some help securing the outpost!"

Rell glanced back at Kleppa. She seemed as determined as he was to do whatever he could to help.

"Alright. Stay close," he commanded the Asura.


	4. Chapter 4

The heads and limbs of undead snapped loose from torsos with revolting ease. Giblets cracked and slurried underfoot. Rolling dodges and stance-primed strikes sullied boots and armor. As stray corpses became terrain pitfalls, Rell began to wonder about the source of this vast squadron of undead.

"Two on your right, Rell! Five o'clock!"

The guardian heel-spun at the word of his asura spotter and t-boned a zombie with the brunt of his shield. The frail corpse split and tumbled into its nearby undead compatriot, knocking it to the ground. Rell scalped the pair before they could shamble to their feet. If haircuts involved decapitations, the past hour had made the cleric a master barber.

A hollow gasp spilled down the back of Rell's neck. The guardian whirled around to find a decayed human mere inches from his face, leaned in to bite. Its decrepit breath set his eyes wide and slithered heavy down his throat. A sizable stone suddenly clocked the aberration in the temple and it flew to the ground at the cleric's feet. Rell wheeled about towards Kleppa. The asura stood there in planted stance huffing breaths.

"Kleppa! Just tell me where they are!"

"I wanted to get at least one!" she retorted. "Besides, it looks like they're aren't anymore left."

Not yet finished, the dazed undead worked itself to its feet. Kleppa's projectile dropped from its skull with a thud. Rell kicked the abberation to finish it. His boot ripped straight through its chest; he wasn't exactly expecting that. Worse yet, the zombie only moaned angrily. Despite screaming a bit, the cleric managed to cleave its skull off and shake the double-dead corpse from his leg. Kleppa couldn't keep a laugh from sputtering out.

"All able bodies take up positions at the gates!" a piercing voice rang out from some distance away. "We aren't done here yet!"

Rell and Kleppa gathered themselves and joined a party of volunteers at the outpost's northernmost entrance. The group froze still in vigil, listening to the air. A woman among the group ran glances up and down those gathered around her, assessing the party. She wore thick, cloth robes dyed dark like moonlit clouds with sky-blue lines patterning down and across her form. She was human and a member of the Priory of Durmand. The woman locked frantic stares on other priory uniforms.

"I heard that these monsters attack in waves," she whispered. "There are theories to suggest that there might still be more, right?"

"Quiet down," a rather old asura—also garbed in the priory robes—piped up from behind Rell. "You'll demoralize our conscripts."

The sinking sun yawned dark across the horizon. Stray animals in the brush became creeping corpses. Gust-rustled grasslands were undead rasping rally calls. Bullets, arrows and shouts shot from all exits at unnatural intervals. Before the situation devolved into further panic, a norn in priory garb rambled atop a watchtower and roared victory for the defenders.

In unsettled quiet, the able-bodied populace gathered near the outpost's main plaza. Several blue robes remained stationed at the gates to watch for further assaults. The bar—being one of the larger buildings in the outpost—was transformed into a makeshift hospital. Outside, a bonfire was lit to abate night's fast-approaching chill. Circling around the light and warmth, worried murmurs rose about what had just transpired. Trust and calm were the bonfire embers: thin sails that caught hot air and escaped into the night sky.

A loud, heavy clunk startled most everyone. The norn who had directed everyone into the center from atop the outpost watchtower had appeared and set several large crates down on the ground nearby the fire. He slapped the box's wooden side, threw back his robe's hood and ran a hand from the cusp of his mighty, braided beard up to the crown of his bald, tattooed head.

"Now then! Who's hungry?"

Before anyone could muster words, Rell and Kleppa's hunger shouted for them with immobilizing growls that stampeded up their abdomens at volumes that drew the attention of much of the nearby crowd.

Sounds like a few of us have worked up quite the appetite!" the norn guffawed.

"Yes!" the pair answered frantically—and simultaneously—with their next meal in mind.

"Hoho, both soldiers and a comedy troupe too?" the giant chuckled.

"No!" Kleppa and Rell responded in sync once again.

"That's some timing you two got there!" a voice from the crowd shouted. "You two practice that together?"

The two whirled towards the voice. "We don't!" Another perfect sync. "I mean—!" It didn't cease. They looked at each other. "You! Sto—! Nhh!" They turned back to the norn with the supplies. "Can we just have our food now?!"

A laugh went up from the crowd paired with scattered applause. In the limelight, Rell and Kleppa received their first meals in nearly a day. As several priory members occupied themselves with distributing rations to the wounded and hungry volunteers, the guardian and elementalist angrily gobbled down what they were offered in a manner that left the a few crowd-goers cheering them on towards the end. Much to their chagrin, even their eating had become subject of the group's entertainment.

"Bear's hide, friend, you look like you could still use some more!" the priory norn who had brought out the rations cackled deep and extended a large roll of bread to Rell. The cleric graciously accepted it. "I saw you out there. Took down quite a few of those beasties! Figured you had at least earned another loaf!"

Before the cleric could even finish thanking him, Kleppa snatched the roll from Rell's hands and shoved as much of it as she could fit into her jaws, much to the amusement of the pair's gathering audience. Before she could swallow the whole bread ball, Rell dug his fingers into what remained protruding from her mouth. With a swift rip and a complaint, he recovered what he could and downed it in an instant amid further cheers, taunts and bets on who would claim the next roll tossed in their direction.

"Attention, please!"

An asura—another priory associate—puffed himself up atop one of the ration crates and reigned in the crowd with exaggerated gestures. Rell recognized him: one of the priory mages that stood with him at the northern gate not long ago. He was up in his years. Brown, spotted ears sagged out from slits cut into his uniform's hood. Water-drop ripples of tired skin cradled his eyes and his voice came out raspy. With quiet restored, he spoke again.

"Since the couple that can't control themselves while eating over there is finally finished," a soft chuckle went up from the crowd, "I'd like to discuss with the priory members present here about what has just transpired. If anyone here should seek further assistance, please refer to our quartermaster for aid." Sure enough, the bald, rations-toting norn with the mighty beard waved happily to the crowd. "Yes. He'll be stationed by the bar where we are currently housing some wounded. Feel free to seek lodging where you can. We will accommodate you. And thank you for your help in these past hours."

The asura left his post and several robed bodies of all races and sizes rose from their seats in unison. The only noise in the entire settlement following the curt announcement was a door clapping shut behind a line of priory that had funneled into a nearby house. As lamplight gradually blossomed across the two-story dwelling's windows, once curious eyes turned back towards each other and the din of speech again filled the outpost. Rell and Kleppa exchanged gazes for a moment. Pupils glimmering in the late evening firelight, the two exchanged sly smiles that both suggested that they knew exactly what each other was about to say.

"I'm going to ask that quartermaster if he has seconds," Rell said.

"No, you dolt!"

"What?"

"You're supposed to say, 'Let's go spy on that meeting!'" Kleppa's voice was a whispered shout.

"What? Why? I can't imagine they're talking about anything that important to us. Also, I'm still starving."

"You can eat later! I'm sure the quatermaster will be there all night. C'mon. Something tells me that someone here might be able to help me with my hex."

Despite his hunger, Rell agreed with himself that fixing Kleppa was more important than filling his stomach to the brim. According to Kleppa's impromptu plan, he went to distract the quatermaster by asking for help in taking off his heavy cleric's armor. Meanwhile, the diminutive elementalist slipped off of her seat and skulked between distracted bodies and makeshift seating until safely beneath shadow's veil next to the house full of arcane scholars and explorers. The voices were muffled, but she felt that she could make them out. The asura placed her ear against a curtained side window and closed her eyes.

"Of course!" The quartermaster slapped Rell on his back at the simple request. "You two have been such a great help that I couldn't refuse you."

Rell turned around and raised his arms, allowing the norn to work at undoing the straps that tied his armor in place. "Well, we only did what everyone else did," the cleric responded. "It's not like we were the only ones putting ourselves in danger out there."

"Well, surely. But I wasn't talking about that," the norn spoke quietly with a smile. "Look at those people over there."

Rell took a glance over the crowd around the bonfire. Laughter and lively conversation gusted through channels of wild gestures. People were recounting the past few hours as if they had been nothing but a game; bragging and lauding each other happily in-between mouthfuls of combat rations.

"There are so many fighters in this world," the norn began again, "it's just what you must do to survive. There are far fewer people around that can turn the mood from what it was moments ago to what it is right now like you and that asura did." Rell's armor slipped off at last. "You two are treasures."

The cleric chuckled in embarrassment, "We were just hungry."

"Then you're hungry treasures!" the norn's voice rose up again with a laugh. "Now then, why don't we give these people even more to cheer about, eh?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The norn tossed a wooden training sword at the cleric who fumbled to catch it in time. "Everyone!" the quartermaster shouted, "this little cub wants to put on another comedy routine for you!"

Rell seized up. "I told you, I'm not part of some troupe!" The crowd chuckled and applauded.

"Oh? So then you must be a soldier given how you fight!" the norn retorted. More cheering rose up from around the bonfire.

"I'm a guardian!"

"A soldier indeed!" the norn shouted. "But I'm still not convinced. Maybe you'd like to prove it to me and the good people gathered here?"

"Prove it, yeah!" jovial yells rose up from masses.

The faces at the bonfire had all turned to face the norn and human holding carved blades. Cheers, claps and bets billowed the air and painted the outpost's ambiance a jolly buzz.

"You're a clever one, aren't you," Rell addressed the norn quietly.

"Raven did her best with me, I suppose," the priory quartermaster chuckled, grabbing a training sword of his own from the stockpile.

"That moron, what did he get himself into?" Kleppa muttered, eyes drawn open by the clacking connects between wooden swords and the crowd's raucous outbursts.

"Seems like you're into something deeper, yourself," a soft voice fell down from over the ausra's head.

Before Kleppa could look up, an arrow pierced her arm. Her body cracked into stillness—petrified by rare basilisk venom running through her veins. A robe ruffled overhead. A skirt bloomed open from above and a strike snapped across the asura's neck, knocking her out.

Kleppa's head rocked wildly from side to side. Opening an eye, she saw the old asura researcher who had lead the priory members into the house earlier—his fingers painfully woven into the elementalist's hair.

"Finally awake," he said, releasing her curls. Kleppa tried to lash out at him, but her body was tied to the chair in which she sat.

"Nnnah! I've had enough of being caught today!" the elementalist shouted.

"I figured someone like you would be used to it," the old asura said, "given your poor abilities as an eavesdropper. Though, I am surprised you've lived this long if you're only smart enough to place your ear against a window when trying to steal information." Kleppa had only a low growl in response. "But now," he leaned in up close, "who are you exactly—and what to do with you now that we've caught you?"

The door burst open. Happy cries of the crowd around the bonfire chased the tails of two bruised bodies that staggered through the threshold. Rell and the norn quartermaster—liquor blushing pink over the smiles on their faces—stood before the disjointedly sombre scene.

"Hey!" the norn quartermaster greeted the priory members and their hostage with shamelessly inappropriate gusto. "My friend here is looking for a little asura! You guys seen—?"

"Bjarn, you imbecile!"

"Rell!"

"K-Kleppa?!"

The old asura wheeled around and threw out his hand at Rell. A signet ring on his finger crackled bright and the guardian felt his body freeze as if turned to stone. The stiff, half-drunk cleric clattered to the floor.

"Hey, hey now, Duuf, that's too much," the aled-up norn quartermaster casually objected.

"What did you do?!" Rell demanded.

"Tie him up too," the old asura scholar commanded. "And hurry before the effect wears off."

A few blue robes rushed to bind the guardian's wrists and ankles with tangible bonds. In a matter of seconds he was face down next to Kleppa's chair with his arms behind his back.

"Na' wait just a moment—how do ya' know that this was the asura he was lookin' fer—and, a-an—wait—why do you even have an asura tied to a chair in here anyway?" Bjarn's thoughts tripped over his lips on the way out.

"They said each other's names, you drunken buffoon," Duuf snapped. "If you're not going to sober up any time soon, head back outside. Somebody go with him to cover up why the human didn't follow him back out."

"Not a chance!" the norn objected. "This one's a good guy! I'm sticking around to see this out for him."

"You're naïve, Bjarn," Duuf remarked. He then turned to Rell lying on the ground, "And you're in much more trouble than you imagine, human."

"What did we even do?" Rell asked, "I mean, besides help save your town."

"You'll watch your tongue if you want to stay conscious, Inquest interloper."

"Inquest?!" the hostages cried out immediately in exasperated disbelief.

"That's terrible acting, honestly," Duuf said.

"I'm beyond my patience for being accused of Inquest-related deeds in one day!" Kleppa shouted. "Once was quite enough! Can't I just leave?! I swear, this unreasonable paranoia is why I chose to live in the middle nowhere!"

"Once?" Duff cautiously inquired.

"I was jumped by a ranger and a mesmer on my way here earlier today! Those morons accused me of being Inquest as well!

"I can vouch for that," Rell interjected quietly.

"Can't you people at least be a little more reasonable than highwaymen?!" Kleppa shouted.

"Well, you were trying to eavesdrop on our clearly private conversation through a window," Duff retorted plainly.

"Ah, well—eh, you have a point there," the elementalist admitted.

"Furthermore, it is true that as of late nobody with good reason should trust an asura around these parts," the priory scholar pressed. "Reported instances of Inquest scouting and threatening operations have seen an alarming expansion within the past several weeks. One cannot be too careful. Which is why you'll remain tied to your chair for now."

"Hey!"

"And your friend as well."

"I don't even get a chair," Rell objected half-heartedly. "And why do you think I'm in with the Inquest anyway? I'm a human."

"Anyone can hunger for power, boy. And even the Inquest are not below conscripting other races in its pursuit so long as goals and gains align." Duuf turned around to face at last the crowd of priory members. "Now then, seeing as our regular meeting place has been temporarily compromised, I suggest we find a new location in which to review our plans to secure the western Shattered Henge region tomorrow." The door clacked open and he began ushering the mass of scholars out of the house.

Kleppa jumped in her chair. "Shattered Henge! Wait! You have to take us with you!"

Duuf stopped near the threshold, saw out the last few priory members, shut the door and turned around with an accomplished grin. "Humor me. Why would I even consider that?"

The elementalist bit her lip and spoke with reluctant urgency, "Because I have a theory to what is causing the anomalies that you're researching there."

Duuf perked an eyebrow. "A presumptuous statement on all accounts."

"You're priory. What else would do you do here other than explore, document and research?"

"I don't need to—"

"Dragon energies," Kleppa muttered.

Rell's head snapped in the elementalist's direction. "Dragon—?"

"Undead have appeared in the vicinity," she continued. "That's one tell that an elder dragon's power is at work here."

"Of course, but that won't convince me to bring you anywhere but a more secure prison," Duuf said.

"Then hear me out first. Are you familiar with the spell—the mesmer spell—Power Block?"

The priory scholar huffed. "Of course I know of it."

"Well, someone hexed me with something that appears—"

"Hexed!" Duff laughed. "Hah! That skill is but a simple daze—a distraction! Anyone with tight pants and pink sprinkles can affect a Power Lock! Mesmers are nothing more than parlor magicians and crooked entertainers. I don't need—"

"No—!," Kleppa shook her head. "Not "lock." _Block_! And... it still hasn't worn off."

"What?" For once Duuf seemed genuinely concerned.

"Whatever that person did to me, it blocked my ability to connect to the elements. I can't cast spells. This chair might be a pile of ashes if it weren't for that fact." Kleppa paused and took time to stare down her captor who had taken in her last comments with scrutiny. "Out of a myriad of texts that I've scoured in my research, I've discovered only a handful of spells that have existed throughout recorded history capable of such effects. Now, do you know about the spell Power _Block_?"

Duuf turned around and put his fist to his chin. "I'm vaguely familiar with the family of spells to which it would belong," he spoke over his shoulder, "but spell usage of that magnitude has not been documented for... nearly two centuries now."

"Which seems to coincide with two prevailing theories out of Rata Sum regarding the elder dragon's consumption of magical energies throughout Tyria," Kleppa concluded.

The old asura scholar wheeled slowly around back to face his captor. Making a pass, he circled her like a starving scavenger. "What are you on about?" he finally spoke.

"If magic truly is a finite resource," the elementalist began, "as the theories of several prominent asuran researchers would suggest, and there also existed a documented class of powerful spells that has not seen mainstream usage in roughly two-hundred years, then it would seem to imply that that magical supply is at levels too low to invoke and maintain those magical effects—otherwise, why would they not be still used today? That said, if suddenly, I've been effected by a spell that seems to correspond with that class of powerful spells, it would also imply that there must be some sort of power source in the area that far surpasses the current average level of ambient magic in Tyria and allows for the casting of said spells."

Kleppa took a breath. "For the past seven months I've been investigating the magical anomalies of the Shattered Henge documented over the past several decades. Most of the contention surrounding the phenomena and the area itself related to whether or not it could be harnessed and turned into directed energy for practical use. Before the past day, I had not yet seen that possibility. But if I have had the same magical block applied to me not once but twice within the same day—the second time coming directly from a mage—I believe that that is enough proof to consider my theory that someone, somewhere has found a way to control at least a bit of the ambient magical energy in the swamp!"

Duuf and Rell stared at Kleppa in stunned silence. The thesis wobbled a bit, but when spoken with the such passion and proper diction, it had corked even the head of the region's priory explorers. Duuf forced a cough to bring the room's atmosphere back into focus.

"W-well, your logic seems sound despite your lack of substantial scientific proof," he said.

"It's a Bloodstone, isn't it?" Kleppa asked.

Duuf nearly spat. "B-bloodstone?!"

The door to the house cracked from its hinges and crashed to the floor. "Bloodstone?!" Bjarn—still quite inebriated—tumbled through the threshold followed by a dense pack of priory members.

"You eavesdropping morons!" Duuf exploded. "Get back to our secondary meeting area!" The crowd bumbled upright and scurried off. "Bjarn!" The norn staggered to a halt. "You stay here." The priory leader turned his attention back to his hostages. "You two! I had already planned on taking you back to your little swamp hideout. Come now, surely you didn't think that you wouldn't be noticed there having camped out in one spot for so long out in the open? Yes, we'll take you back and _you_, little miss, are going to share with us all of your findings in the past seven months of your investigations." The diminutive scholar picked up the lantern that had lit the room, marched out of the house and pointed at his towering underling. "Now fix that door!"

Bjarn hiccuped and picked the door up, laying it fairly likewise to its original position amid Kleppa barking complaints regarding her being left tied to a chair. More shouting followed. Duuf shouting. Apparently, a massive blob of blue robes trying to hear a conversation through a single door while standing out in public draws a crowd. Duuf had his hands full dispersing the curious bonfire-goers but eventually the outpost's center grew quiet. With the populace ushered indoors and the priory elsewhere in a meeting, the tied-up guardian and elementalist sat alone in a dark room.

"He left us," Kleppa finally said.

"I didn't exactly expect much less," Rell replied, sitting up.

"So he expects me to somehow sleep in this chair?"

"What's a Bloodstone?" Rell's question dried the air.

Kleppa sighed. "It was mostly a bait," she slouched within her bonds. "Ancient accounts refer to the original being created the last time the dragons awoke from their slumber. It contained nigh unquantifiable amounts of magical energy—so much so that it was broken up to prevent wars caused with its power."

"And you think that there's a piece of it in the Shattered Henge?"

"I have no idea," Kleppa hung her head. "But the prospect excites me... and in any case, there's something strange about the Henge."

"Well the idea seemed to spook the mist straight out of that old asura," Rell smiled.

"I suppose I can take solace in that," the elementalist chuckled. "Quite the note on which for us to end that conversation."

"I'm not sure we really got the last laugh," the cleric struggled against the ropes around his wrists and ankles.

"How does he expect me to fall asleep like this?!" Kleppa roared, suddenly reminded of her predicament.

"Let me try something."

Rell sat upright and closed his eyes. Focusing his spiritual energies while muttering a spell, a hot, blue mist embered off of his shoulders and sculpted a sword in midair. The blade slowly levitated towards Kleppa.

"Wha-wha-wait!"

Carefully, the sword teethed through the first few strands that lassoed her torso to the chair's back.

"As you are!"

Moonlight jumped off of a dagger shoved near Rell's face. The mystic sword backed off from its task. The guardian found himself at the mercy of a lithe woman dressed in a drab, hooded robe. Whether she was priory or not, he couldn't tell.

"We're just trying to get more comfortable," Rell said.

"You must think I'm stupid," the woman retorted.

"You must think I'm used to sleeping tied to a chair!" Kleppa barked, still unable to free herself.

"Neither of you will be leaving this room until dawn," the figure drew a pistol from her robe with her free hand. "I'll be sure of that."

"So no need for ropes, then?" Rell asked.

"Another word and I'll hogtie you further!"

"Look," Rell's tone flattened, "we're tired; we're hungry; we're very invested in this expedition to the Shattered Henge tomorrow. We're not going to run off on this chance to return home." The hovering sword flicked to his side and slit the ropes that bound his limbs.

"Hey!"

Grabbing for Rell's neck, the woman instead clutched a cool mist. The ropes around Kleppa dropped from her body. Finished untying his partner, the cleric put himself between the thief and elementalist while a soothing energy rippled outward from his body. The spiritual sword at his side evaporated into harmless whisps. Gently, the guardian raised his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.

"All she wanted was a bed. You can tie me up again, but at least grant us that."

The woman slipped into a defensive stance.

"Upstairs there are cots," she said. "I'm watching." Cloth flap, smoke puff, wind snap and the thief blinked out of sight before Rell and Kleppa's eyes.

An illusion of privacy. The elementalist hopped from her chair, stretched herself and broke the uneasy silence.

"So, let's find those beds."

The pair moved stiffly up the stairs. At the top was a large, open room lined with rows of spartan sleeping arrangements. Each quickly picked a cot and settled in for a night's sleep under surveillance.

"Rell," Kleppa interrupted the quiet. "I know I was complaining, but you didn't have to go that far back there."

"No, he didn't."

About to answer for himself, Rell nearly jumped from his bed when the thief appeared once again in their presence—right at the foot of the guardian's cot.

"But he did regardless, and even when threatened with harm," the mysterious woman continued. She walked towards Rell's head, and her gloved hands pulled back at her hood. A sylvari. Small, goldenrod flower buds sprouted from her skull of bark and leafy tissue in a bouquet of curled petal hair that blossomed out from her crown. Her features were sharp, smooth and petite with cheeks of hardened wood, a rounded chin and almond eyes the color of bright tree sap. She bent over in close to Rell's face.

"You were... s-so impressive!" Kleppa's mouth hung open in surprise. Rell only held a silent, rigid pose in response; face contorted in confusion. The sylvari gasped and snapped back upright. "B-but that does not mean that I won't let my guard down. You're in this room for the rest of the night! Don't do anything suspicious! I'll be watching you!"

With another whisper of wind, the sylvari had vanished in stealth. The human and asura merely looked at each other, knowing that whatever they had to say about what had just happened—which would have been quite a bit—would undoubtedly be heard by their interloping observer. Rell shrugged his shoulders. Kleppa puffed out her cheeks in a huff. The two laid back down on their cots and closed their eyes, thoughts on tomorrow: a journey home and hopefully answers to questions that could shape the future of the entire Maguuma Jungle—if not all of Kryta.

**NOTE**: _So I told myself (and curious others) that I would have the next chapter done hopefully in about 2 weeks. And here we are... what? Five weeks later? Life has been busy. I am still working on this and I just wanted to let anyone who felt invested—even remotely—in the story to expect more. I will try to be making updates every 3-4 weeks if not sooner._

_But, hey, at least the chapters seem to be getting longer. That's not a good excuse. I also feel like this one sort of ran on too much, but whatever. Feel free to comment on that if you wish. In any case: on to Chapter Five!_


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